Check Out the 10 Best College Towns for Music Majors In 2017

8. Asheville, NC

Asheville is somewhat of a tourist-based economy, but as a music student this is actually a benefit, particularly since this type of economy powerfully boosts the local live music scene.

With a strong tradition in outdoor music, Asheville’s warm climate hosts several festivals that can suit nearly any musician’s tastes. Shindig On the Green is a prime example of the city’s embrace of outdoor music, a weekly event held in July and August on the County Plaza featuring dance and bluegrass music.

Indoors we find an annual festival going strong for the last decade known as The Warren Haynes Christmas Jam, which takes places at the 7,700 seat multipurpose theatre known as the US Cellular Center.

Some of the very notable names to have played this show include The Allman Brothers Band, Led Zeppelin co-songwriter John Paul Jones, progressive rock band Umphrey’s McGee, Sheryl Crow, and the Avett Brothers, just to name a few.

For those with a taste for the classical, the city is home to the Asheville Symphony Orchestra as well as the Asheville Lyric Opera.

Home to a well-regarded professional-level orchestra, the Tucson Symphony Orchestra is a cultural staple beloved by the city. The orchestra programs not only traditional classical music, but also jazz &amp; big-band music, bluegrass, and mariachi music.

Yes…mariachi music. Why does the orchestra play mariachi music?

Because Tucson is widely considered one of the epicenters for mariachi and Mexican music in America. Tucson is also home to a festival dedicated to Norteno music, another prominent Mexican music genre.

The Fred Fox School of Music, based in Tucson’s University of Arizona, is among the finest institutions in the country for studying classical music at the collegiate level.

Particularly known for its excellent in woodwinds, brass, and even harp performance, music students are never without a myriad of high-level ensembles to perform in.

Some of these ensembles include standard yet high-quality fare such as concert bands, orchestras, choir, and an opera theatre.

Additionally, the school hosts some exceptionally creative ensembles, including HarpFusion, which is, according to its own website, “the largest touring concert harp ensemble in the world.”

Of course, taking pride in the roots of the city, the school acknowledges its vast history of embracing ethnic music with its, yes, very own mariachi ensemble.

Notable Colleges for Music In Tucson: The University of Arizona Fred Fox College of Music

My home town! Sweet as apple pie. Thanks for the yeeha Mr. Zuckerman. Of course I wanted my children to see the world, so twin A went Oberlin & Northwestern.. twin B went De Paul & Rice University … this city is amazing… & our girls visit the Hellhole They Grew Up In, quite often. Peace.

Nice write up. Just a note, though, on the Kalamazoo Promise. The way you wrote it makes it sound like the town must be extremely highly taxed, to be able to fund such a thing. This is not the case. While the city may administer it (I don’t recall specifics), it is funded by a donor who chose to remain anonymous. There are many wealthy families in Kalamazoo due to the prominence of the pharmaceutical industry, and their donations help to provide such great opportunities to students of the arts.

The Kalamazoo Promise is a separate nonprofit that is funded by anonymous donors. We administer this scholarship for Kalamazoo public school graduates.
Great article and a great community.
Robert Jorth
Executive Director The Kalamazoo Promise

I am a visual artist in a family of professional musicians. I graduated from UNT with a BFA in Visual Art. When I was a student (and later taught there) it was the largest Art School in the country, with great professors who were highly successful in New York and worldwide.

How could you overlook Bloomington, IN? Top ranked music school, several music events every night, great night life, opera productions better than most professional opera companies, world famous performing groups, national music tours come through, major sports (basketball, football, etc.), enormous marching band, beautiful campus, short drive to major cities, huge fraternity and sorority houses, brand new music school building, huge art community, world renowned professors, phenomenal dance and theater programs, big visual arts community, Straight No Chaser, etc.

University of North Texas’s Jazz program rocks. And I would point out that the great write-up on the school makes a small error. As of 2016, the premier jazz ensemble at UNT, the One O’Clock Lab Band now has 7 Grammy nominations (not 6)!

While I heartily agree with the story on Denton (although it’s much more than a suburb–and it’s “north of ordinary”)–you left out the fact that its close proximity to Dallas and Fort Worth provide opportunities for students to get gigs with performing arts organizations in addition to school-sponsored concerts and opera performances (people drive from Dallas and Fort Worth and beyond to see opera here). Additionally, many soloists and ensembles in the UNT College of Music enjoy hundreds of performing opportunities off-campus, as they are the go-to source for parties, fundraisers, weddings, receptions, churches and myriad other instances where people hire musicians. For example, need a Mariachi band? How about a steel drum ensemble for a tropical-themed event? String quartet for an art exhibit? Extra brass for Christmas Eve church services? Call the College of Music. Many faculty are also regular performers with the symphonic and opera companies in the Metroplex, enriching the experience for all. Full disclosure: I’m actually on the Journalism faculty at UNT but my husband and I are also musicians and we have many friends (faculty and students) in the College of Music.

Great article on a great school! Although I was not a music major, the music scene kept me there longer than I planned before graduating. On any given night in a number of small venues you can hear fantastic musicians playing all kinds of different music.